This invention relates generally to vehicle passenger seating and more particularly to a meal tray for a passenger seat unit.
Commercial passenger aircraft seats often include seatback-mounted meal trays for use in consuming meals, holding work items, and the like. These trays typically fold between an upright, stowed position against the seat back of a seat forward of the user, and a lowered, deployed use position. It is known to adapt passenger seat meal trays to carry graphic displays with passenger information or advertisements.
These displays are subject to theft or vandalism and must be protected. However, the time available for changing the displays between flights is short, and therefore it is undesirable to employ a mounting structure which is too complex. There is therefore a need for a display mounting device and system and is adapted particularly to the public transportation environment, for example, aviation, rail and bus transportation.
Accordingly, there is an object of the invention to provide for a meal tray with a secure yet easily-changed structure for displaying advertising or similar graphical materials.
This and other objects and advantages of the invention are achieved by providing a meal tray assembly for being carried by an aft-facing side of a seat back for use by a person seated aft of the seat back, and comprising a tray mountable to the seat back so that it is movable between a stowed position generally flush with the seat back and a deployed position generally perpendicular to the seat back. The tray includes a first surface facing forward when in the stowed position and a second surface facing rearward towards the aft-seated person when in the stowed position. The second surface includes a recess, and a transparent cover is provided for being positioned in or over the recess and defining a space between the second surface and the transparent cover for receiving and holding a graphical display sheet for viewing by the person seated aft of the seat back when the tray is in the stowed position.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the cover is generally flush with the second surface surrounding the recess when positioned in the recess. According to another embodiment of the invention, the recess communicates with a side edge of the tray, and the cover is sized to slide into the recess from the side edge of the tray.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the cover includes first and second panels positioned in a frame and spaced-apart for receiving the graphical display sheet there between.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the cover includes a first transparent panel and a second panel positioned in a frame and spaced-apart for receiving the graphical display sheet there between.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the recess includes a pair of opposed locking receptacles adapted to receive and retain a pair of complementary latches on the frame for locking the frame into the recess.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the second panel includes an elongate slot having a width suitable for permitting a finger to extend into the slot for removing the graphical display sheet from between the first and second panels.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the recess includes at least one fastener element positioned therein, and the transparent cover includes at least one complementary fastener element for engaging the at least one fastener element and retaining the cover in the recess.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the recess includes a plurality of spaced-part fastener elements positioned in the recess around the periphery thereof, and the transparent cover includes a plurality of spaced-apart complementary fastener elements for engaging the plurality of spaced-apart fastener elements for retaining the cover in the recess.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the transparent cover includes a frame, and the complementary fastener elements are positioned on the frame.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the plurality of fastener elements and the plurality of complementary fastener elements comprise complementary hook and loop fastener elements.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the at least one fastener element and the at least one complementary fastener element are detachable from each other by pulling the cover away from engagement with the recess.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a suction cup is provided for pulling the cover away from engagement with the recess.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the recess includes a pair of opposed tab slots and the cover includes a pair of complementary tabs for being received within the tab slots. The cover is flexible and, including the tab slots, is greater in dimension than a corresponding dimension of the recess whereby the cover must be flexed into a curved shape for the tabs to be received into the tab slots, and must be flexed into a curved shape for the tabs to be removed from the tab slots.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a meal tray assembly is provided for being carried by an aft-facing side of a seat back for use by a person seated aft of the seat back, and comprises a tray mountable to the seat back so that it is movable between a stowed position generally flush with the seat back and a deployed position generally perpendicular to the seat back. The tray includes a first surface facing forward when in the stowed position and a second surface facing rearward when in the stowed position. The second surface includes a recess having a plurality of spaced-part touch fastener elements positioned in the recess around the periphery thereof. A transparent cover is provided for being positioned in the recess and defining a space between the second surface and the transparent cover for receiving and holding a graphical display sheet for viewing by the person seated aft of the seat back when the tray is in the stowed position. The transparent cover includes a frame having a plurality of spaced-apart complementary touch fastener elements thereon for engaging the plurality of spaced-apart fastener elements for retaining the cover in the recess.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the plurality of touch fastener elements and the plurality of touch complementary fastener elements comprise hook and loop fastener elements.